Prior to tomorrow's Informal EU Summit in Lahti, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša attended a working dinner of Heads of Government of the European People's Party in Helsinki today. In his conversation with journalists, the topic of which was mostly Slovenia's relations with Croatia, Janša stated that our southern neighbour's negotiations with the European Union on fisheries mainly include negotiations between Croatia and the EU, in which Slovenia is directly interested. Therefore one could hardly say that Slovenia is blocking its neighbour's EU accession in any way.

 

FOTO: BOBO

 

According to Prime Minister Janša, these are the criteria that Croatia is required to meet like any other EU Member State, and the same also applies to the Chapter on free movement of capital. Concerning the concrete Chapter on fisheries, Prime Minister Janez Janša stated that two factors are essential: Slovenia and Croatia have signed and ratified a border cooperation agreement that also covers the issue of fisheries. On joining EU, Slovenia also adopted EU's fisheries arrangements, so that these negotiations are now actually conducted between Croatia and EU.

 

"Any country wishing to join EU is required to meet specific conditions – in this case these are the conditions relating to free movement of capital – and ensure the proper functioning of the internal market. Like Slovenia, Croatia is also obliged to open up its market to foreign banks", added Slovenia's Prime Minister Janša.

 

In his answer to the journalists' question about the action brought against Slovenia by Croatians who held deposits in the former Ljubljanska banka the Prime Minister stated that he expected a favourable outcome. At the same time he stressed that the matter is to a large extent perfectly clear since Croatia signed an agreement that precisely defines these issues as the subject of succession negotiations.